Hello everyone and welcome to the wrap-up segment of the week for This Day in Wrestling History. This is going to be what I feel is the top historical moment of the week, something that’s as undeniable as it can get. With that being said, allow me to introduce this week’s inaugural This Week in Wrestling History segment we feature George Hackenschmidt becoming the first Universal Champion.
George Hackenschmidt makes history
Born August 1, 1877, Hackenschmidt was a strongman, professional wrestler, author, and sports philosopher. A humble man, he spent most of his life living in London, England, and during the later years of his life, he wrote books on physical training and philosophy. He’s also recognized as the first Universal Heavyweight Champion of professional wrestling.
Hackenschmidt won multiple tournaments in Paris, France; Hamburg, Germany; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Elberfeld, Germany; and Berlin, Germany to place himself against Tom Jenkins in New York City, where he won the Universal Heavyweight Championship on May 4, 1905
What made this more impressive is that at the time, wrestling matches were two out of three falls, and each wrestler often developed their own holds to force submissions, so it was difficult to know whether the endings were pre-determined or not.
Creating a new championship
The first Universal Championship began as the World Heavyweight Championship in 1905. It was the first professional wrestling championship to identify the best wrestler in the world. As far removed from today’s various championships as possible, it was treated as a top trophy is expected — with reverence and respect.
Unfortunately, over the years and decades, the lineage of the championship isn’t linear as each promotion claimed their own champion was the real champion, which is expected as no promotion wants to admit they’re second or worst best.
The disputes ended with the formation of the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) in 1948. Over the decades, it became known as “ten pounds of gold” and required a $25,000 deposit by the new champion to ensure they followed through with their commitments.
The last wrestler to hold this championship is recognized as Lou Thesz before being unified by the WWE after purchasing WCW in 2001. In the years since, it’s lost the pedigree it once had as the WWE has split it between their brands, then reunified it into the current WWE World Heavyweight Championship held by Brock Lesnar. While the WWE claims this is the original Universal Championship, the NWA and Impact also lay legitimate claim to their championships being the Universal since WCW split from the NWA, effectively leaving the championship with the NWA.
In other words, the WWE feels the biggest company has it, the NWA and Impact’s claims are that they share the original lineage. To be honest, it appears the Universal Championship is split into three parts, but that’s my thought. Looks like the WWE needs to buy the NWA and Impact to truly lay claim.
No matter what is said or done through the years by various promotions, history eventually sorts itself out and reveals and heightens the gems that have helped those moments continue to shine bright for new generations of fans.
Thank you for joining me for George Hackenschmidt becoming the first Universal Champion Stay tuned for more to come.
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